this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2025
1055 points (97.2% liked)

Privacy

37447 readers
341 users here now

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

Related communities

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Originally this was a reply to this article about a Windows feature called Recall, but there's a good argument the author's concerns resonate far beyond Windows and Meta to proprietary generally.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] TootTootComingThru@lemmy.world 39 points 4 days ago

If this is the same person I think it is, I would take their comments with a huge pile of salt. Not saying they're wrong, but...

A couple years ago this Linux-Is-Best dipshit somehow got onboarded as a mod of the /r/massachusetts subreddit, started banning a ton of users for pretty unreasonable reasons, brought a few other seemingly random moderators on board and almost nuked it out of existence by being an unhinged little weirdo. They claimed to have worked at Facebook/Meta and I forget which, but they were found out either to have made it up or they were just a bottom tier content moderation employee.

You can go find some posts about it, but this person's not well at all even if you happen to agree with them. If this is the same person. They're not trust worthy. Privacy's important, big companies are creepy, do what you can to protect yourself and use linux if that's what gets you there, but again I would take anything this dipshit says with a grain of salt.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/11wsnla/mod_of_3_months_in_rmassachusetts_purges_members/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Massachusetts_US/comments/11wnjsk/removed_by_reddit/

https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/11xw44r/linux_is_gone/

[–] Allero@lemmy.today 24 points 4 days ago (2 children)

The Linux Foundation itself is in the US jurisdiction - just sayin'.

Which is why I repeatedly called for the Foundation to move into Europe, potentially into Finland, back to its roots.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago

Just deleted my Facebook account. Now I just need any of my friends to install Threema (or maybe Revolt?).

I just finished my accounting course yesterday, but I'm not sure my assignments met the training guidelines so I'm hesitant to uninstall Windows if I may be asked to come back and redo some assignments (not sure I even need Windows for that though).

Reddit is still an issue, can't find Twitter manga and de-Americaification advice on Lemmy.

YouTube I've reduced my engagement on but haven't deleted. Discord I'm lurking in some essential group chats. Still on an 10-year old iPhone, gotta get a new open-source one. I'm sticking with Steam for games.

[–] woop_woop@lemmy.world 223 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (10 children)

"im a henchman for a bad guy....and lemme tell you...I think we might be starting to do bad stuff...not sure yet..."

Thanks bud

[–] JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca 117 points 5 days ago (13 children)

At some point we need to start welcoming people to the Light, instead of demonizing them for having been in the Dark. It's pretty difficult for me not to dunk on people as they wake up to the nightmare that they voted for, but a lot them ARE actually otherwise decent folks. Making America Great is going to involve deprogramming a lot of people.

load more comments (13 replies)
[–] irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone 28 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Unfortunately, not everyone has a choice in who they work for in end-stage-capitalism. Work is about survival, not ideology. The majority of Americans are not far-right capitalists, but the vast majority of CEOs are, and it's not really possible to survive long enough to start a small business in most of the US without investment from a far-right capitalist or inheritance (usually also from a far-right capitalist family member).

[–] ArtificialHoldings@lemmy.world 19 points 5 days ago (5 children)

If you have the skillset and CV to work at Meta, you have a choice to work somewhere slightly lower on the scale of exploitation.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] ShrimpCurler@lemmy.dbzer0.com 25 points 5 days ago (1 children)

People gotta earn money to survive, I don't blame the employees for this. And this is not just a case of Meta's privacy being bad. This is close government involvement with potentially serious impacts and implications across all US based platforms.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (7 replies)
[–] Rhaxapopouetl@ttrpg.network 15 points 3 days ago (5 children)

He clearly says "You need to try, Linux". He's talking to someone named Linux. Someone that needs to try.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] zarkanian@sh.itjust.works 119 points 5 days ago (6 children)

It's funny how they're saying "You need to use Linux" and not "You need to get off Facebook". How's Linux going to save you from Facebook spying on you?

[–] ShrimpCurler@lemmy.dbzer0.com 57 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I think the be careful what you do on Facebook is implied. He's highlighting something that's less expected, where you may need to be careful what you do on Windows systems.

[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 25 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

They mentioned Microsoft updating privacy agreements at the same time as other companies, and OP mentioned that the context was a discussion of a Windows ultra-keylogger type of feature, the implication is they're in on this shit too, and Linux is a way to not use Windows.

[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 17 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Back in 2020 when I took my class for my A+ cert I remember the instructor directing us to a Windows 10 debloating video tutorial to speed up a Win10 computer. If I recall correctly In that video the host point's out that one of the Microsoft services that ran in the background of every standard distribution of Windows 10 was a keylogger. It was one of the many things that got permanently turned off in the in the tutorial.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] index@sh.itjust.works 50 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Protests crack down on the internet has been going on for quite some time, don't just blame it on trump but on the whole government and its infrastructure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 25 points 4 days ago (10 children)

And Facebook as an integrated part of the international surveillance state has been firmly established since Snowden leaked the PRISM program.

Like, there are a lot of reasons to switch to linux and plenty of them are compelling. But its an absolute fantasy to believe you're somehow immune to surveillance because you're using the same software as Amazon's EC2. Does anyone really believe the NSA hasn't cracked Linux Mint yet?

Or, for that matter, that using a linux desktop is going to insulate you from being spied on via a public facing 3rd party social media forum?

load more comments (10 replies)
[–] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 41 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (11 children)

One should be have been assuming since Windows 7 and automated online updates that the Microsoft key used to sign OS updates is in the hands of at least the NSA (and hence probably the Israeli equivalent) and they can push whatever they want to your computer as an OS update, bypassing all protections.

In fact the same applies to Linux updates of certain distros - if they're maintained by a company based in the US they can be forced by FISA courts to provide the signing keys to the US Government.

More in general, just go read about FISA courts and their secret court orders - companies based in the US or hosting things in the US can be secretly forced to just "give the keys of the Realm" to parts of the US Government.

Since things like the Patriot act one should be treating companies based in the US as just as untrustworthy as companies based in China.

(By the way, some other supposed Democratic countries have similar or worse systems - for example the equivalent of FISA courts in the UK have things like secret court sessions were the side which is not the State is not authorized to have a legal representation, see most of the evidence or even know the decision of the court).

Have people already forgot most of what came out in the Snowden Revelations?!

load more comments (11 replies)
[–] youngalfred@lemm.ee 81 points 5 days ago (1 children)

That first comma is a bit out of place - 'why won't you just try, Linux?'
'seriously Linux, just try your vegetables'.

[–] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 20 points 5 days ago (2 children)

It can't. Its just a kernel. Maybe with the right gnu core utils...

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] upstroke4448@lemmy.dbzer0.com 80 points 5 days ago (5 children)

Its a bit odd to see an employee of a company that has always had a terrible privacy policy now be suddenly alarmed.

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 63 points 5 days ago (12 children)

Things have changed. Before, the worst Facebook could do to its critics was ban them and those that they knew. Now Facebook can have ICE turnover your house without a warrant for a troll post. A private company is now working to suppress a specific kind of conversation that questions the judgement and actions of those in power. It's a subtle but very dangerous difference in why a bad EULA may not have previously caused concern but the new one is.

load more comments (12 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 23 points 4 days ago (6 children)

Do, or do not, there is no try.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] Apocalypteroid@lemmy.world 29 points 5 days ago (2 children)

To all the people who are criticising this guy for working for Meta, I would like to remind you of the phrase, "Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer".

I am very much a left-winger, but I still read right-wing papers and articles, I like to know what the other side is thinking.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 19 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer”.

Bruh, it's not game of thrones. People just need to work.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Paddy66@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 days ago

https://distrosea.com/ this is amazing for previewing linux OS flavours right in your browser, no need for a USB stick or installation! Linux Mint, Zorin, Ubuntu and Fedora are the winners for me in terms of being normie friendly.

[–] hansolo@lemm.ee 44 points 5 days ago (6 children)

I've done OSINT research and that alone converted me into a privacy advocate. Seeing how Alphabet, Meta, and MS have allowed creep to get training data... Whew. It's breathtaking and complicated beyond the ability to explain in 114 characters.

Y'all, we are cooked. Currently. Present tense. If you aren't freaked out already, you're missing about 85% of reality.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] dogs0n@sh.itjust.works 10 points 4 days ago

I believe in the underlying message (use linux), but doesn't practically every big company change their privacy policy or tos every 10 minutes.

[–] Tapionpoika@lemmy.ml 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Funny how much longer my phone's battery lasts now after I flashed /e/ to it. No constant net traffic anymore.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 39 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (7 children)

imagine how great it feels to say this for like 10-15 years while getting dismissed as a conspiracy nut.

and then having it happen exactly as you said it would.

load more comments (7 replies)
[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 39 points 5 days ago (4 children)

Switching from Windows to Linux isn't going to block them from monitoring your use of online services. Facebook doesn't even do anything in the OS space.

[–] illi@lemm.ee 44 points 5 days ago

I think what they are getting at is that Meta does this and they find it likely Microsoft might be doing something similar.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] olafurp@lemmy.world 23 points 5 days ago

FUCK YEAH, YEAR OF THE LINUX DESKTOP

[–] bipedalsheep@programming.dev 17 points 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (20 children)

I switched from Fedora to openSUSE recently and it has been painless. Would recommend to anyone who are looking to get away from US companies and US jurisdiction. Edit: note that it uses RPM package manager though, I don't know yet if that is problematic or not. If someone knows then please elaborate on that.

load more comments (20 replies)
[–] RandomVideos@programming.dev 13 points 5 days ago (2 children)

What does linux need to try?

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›